Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) induce the protein folding reaction, and then make endoplasmic reticulum three pathway PERK, IRE1 and ATF6 separate from the endoplasmic reticulum chaperone, activate of three pathways and start the apoptosis pathway. We used the animal model of posttraumatic stress disorder: single prolonged stress (SPS) to find endoplasmic reticulum stress cause the endoplasmic reticulum chaperone and protect neurons at the early stage of SPS, but in the later period of SPS, when the ability decreased that endoplasmic reticulum chaperone correct for the folding protein, ERS could accelerate the activation of three path and induce the cell apoptosis.

Stress is strongly associated with depression, cardiovascular disorders and cancers. The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus are not only important regions regulating the stress response, but also the main targets of stress. Excitatory synaptic transmission plays an essential role in the brain function, which is affected by stress through altering the transmitter release and metabolism,and the expression and trafficking of postsynaptic receptors. Multiple intracellular molecular signal cascades are involved in the underlying mechanisms of the stress response. Thus, understanding these mechanisms may provide potential targets for discovering the novel therapeutic treatments of stress-associated disorders.

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a process of generating functional new neurons from neural precursors in the subgranular zone of the adult dentate gyrus. Exposure to severe stressful events early in life impairs adult hippocampal neurogenesis and disrupts learning and memory. Accumulating evidence has shown that glucocorticoid and its receptors play fundamental roles in the negative effects of early-life stress on adult hippocampal neurogenesis, yet the exact mechanisms and mediators remain to be investigated. Here, we highlight the potential roles of key stress mediators, including corticotropin-releasing hormone and its receptors, in modulating the negative effects of early-life stress on adult hippocampal neurogenesis and hippocampal plasticity.

Central immune activities exert important roles in maintaining homeostatic process of central nervous system. It has shown that the dynamically balance of brain TNFα participates in the regulation of neurodevelopment, synaptic plasticity and cognitive function by its receptor signaling, while imbalance of TNFα signaling, no matter excessive or insufficient, can result in adverse effects on brain function and behavior. Stress, especially early stress, may disturb the dynamic development process of TNFα signaling and thus cause lasting alterations of its expression and receptor function, which strongly linked to the increasing incidences of immune-related psychopathological disorders in late life. Future studies are needed to deepen the understanding of causal relationships between central immunity and cognitive dysfunction, and establish new strategies for disease prevention and treatment based on immunoregulation.

Recently, endocannabinoid system has been proposed as a new pharmacological target of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Empirical studies indicated that endocannabinoid system is closely linked to the occurrence and development of PTSD due to its important roles in regulating the fear memory, anxiety, depression, reward as well as motivation. Several clinical studies also found that appropriate dose of cannabinoids can relieve PTSD symptoms, especially the sleep problems. Future studies should further explore the pathological mechanism of endocannabinoid system in PTSD, increase the clinical security of medicinal cannabinoids,and develop the new kinds of cannabinoid receptor modulators. In addition, investigating of the influence of genetic factors and heterogeneity of responses in the effect of endocannabinoid on treatment of PTSD will also promote the early identification of the patients and the development of precision medicine.

DNA epigenetic modification includes DNA methylation, which was catalyzed by the DNA methyltransferase, and DNA demethylation, which was mediated by the Ten-eleven translocation enzymes. Both of them induce the changes of neural activity and behavior through responding environmental stimulus and regulating gene expression. Massive studies suggested that DNA methylation is one of the most important mechanisms in the drug related memory. In recent years, it was found that DNA demethylation involved in controlling fear memory and addiction behavior. As a result, the effects of DNA epigenetic modification on drug related memory should be reassessed. This review focuses on the co-regulation of DNA methylation and demethylation in drug related memory, then we discuss the probable regulatory mechanisms and try to put forward the vista of further study.

Impulsivity is a multidimensional concept, which is generally defined as lack of foresight or consideration and judgment of actions. There is a double relationship between impulsivity and substance abuse, namely that trait impulsivity is an important risk factor for substance abuse and addiction, and the individual impulsivity could be damaged by abusing the addictive substances. The relationship between impulsivity and substance abuse, as well as its underlying neural mechanisms will be discussed in this review. Reorganization of previous research literatures on the trait-like impulsivity, or its alteration caused by substance abuse, and understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms implicated in this process, not only help us reveal the nature of occurrence, development and recurrence of substance abuse after abstinence, but also help us explore the behavioral intervention means other than drug therapies.

γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the most important inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitter in the central nervous system to maintain the excitatory-inhibitory balance of the brain. Increasing clinical and pre-clinical evidence shows a central and causal role of GABAergic deficits in depressive disorders. Depressive patients commonly indicate reduced GABAergic transmission in emotional and cognitive brain areas, especially prefrontal cortex and limbic areas like hippocampus and amygdala, and antidepressants can alleviate or reverse depressive symptoms by augmenting GABAergic activity in these areas. Furthermore, deficits in GABAergic transmission are sufficient to cause most of the neural and behavioral alterations expected in an animal model of depression. GABAergic system undergoes a prolonged development to structural and functional maturation until into early adulthood in both human and rodents. Stress, especially early stress, may disturb the mature trajectory of the GABAergic system, and result in continuing negative consequences of neural development and late functioning, which can contribute to the increased susceptibility for the onset of depression across late life. It would be important to further elucidate GABAergic mechanisms underlying depressive disorders and action of antidepressant in order to improve strategy for early recognition and intervention of depression.

Peripartum depression (PPD) has adverse effects on both mothers and offpring, particularly by increasing the risk of emotional disorders in offspring significantly in a transgenerational manner. The pathogenesis of transgenerational depressive disorders from PPD is complex, and the current pharmacotherapeutic efficacy was limited. Therefore, it is of great importance to study the mechanisms underlying this disorder. We discuss the role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), oxytocin (OT), synaptic plasticity and epigenetic mechanisms underlying transgenerational depressive disorders, to give insight for further in-depth research.

Maternal behavior is a complex social behavior which is essential for the survival and development of the offspring. Many progresses have been made in recent decades on the neurobiological mechanisms of maternal behavior, especially in rodents. The present study focuses on the serotonin system, a major neurotransmitter system that has not received enough attention in this field. We first provide a brief overview of rat maternal behavior and the basic functions of the serotonin system. Next, we review recent work on the role of serotonin in the mediation of maternal behavior, focusing on the specific receptor subtypes. We examine evidence concerning the physio-psychological and neuroanatomical, neurochemical and neuroendocrine mechanisms of serotonin and the related gene regulation. Finally, we point out several future research directions, one of which concerns the potential interactions between serotonin and other neurochemicals, such as dopamine and oxytocin in the regulation of maternal behavior.

In a noisy environment with multiple-people talking, how does a listener use certain perceptual cues to facilitate recognition of target speech? To answer this “cocktail-party” problem, researchers have used brain-image methods to examine the underlying brain-network mechanisms. Recent studies have shown that using a unmasking cue, which is associated with a feature of target speech, is able to not only shorten the latency of the auditory cortical responses to a target-speech signal, but also facilitate activation and functional connection of the brain regions that are associated with both cue-specific and cue-nonspecific attention, speech expression, inhibitory functions, and speech motoring, thereby forming the brain-network foundation for the unmasking-cue-induced improvement of the target speech perception against speech informational masking.

Startle reflection has been widely used in emotional research because of its sensitivity of emotional valence, individual status and individual susceptibility. It is also easy to carry out and it can directly induce, record and quantify data. The subjective influence on startle reflection is weak too. In the general emotion study, startle reflection show differences in the different emotional valence, between different types of individual characteristics. In the field of emotional disorders research, startle reflection can be used to distinguish between anxiety, depression and so on. It also can be used to predict some emotional disorders and evaluate the effect of treatment. The results of neural mechanism about startle reflection have shown that it is associated with amygdala and Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis. In the future, researchers can expand the research community and application direction, so that startle reflection can better facilitate the study of emotions.

A definition of ‘Mindfulness’ is the awareness that arises through intentionally attending in an open, accepting, and discerning way to whatever is arising in the present moment. Mindfulness has played its role in a wide range of psychological and medical conditions. As complementary therapy, mindfulness- based interventions are particularly suitable for the common experience of cancer patients. Researchers adapted traditional mindfulness programs specifically for cancer care, according to diagnosis or treatment stages. Previous studies demonstrated efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions, for improving psychosocial outcomes, cancer-related symptoms, as well as bio markers.

Electroencephalography (EEG) and related measures have a long history in children brain development research and learning studies and now have become the biomarkers in the prediction, diagnosis and intervention of child developmental disorders. In this paper, EEG studies related to developmental disorders in the past three decades are reviewed in four main types of EEG measurements: event-related potentials, quantitative EEG, time-frequency measures and resting EEG connectivity. We analyzed the characteristics and problems of each measurement while performing tasks or resting states. The main objective of applied studies should include the identification of general and specific EEG biomarkers for developmental disorders, the description of brain structure and the diagnosis of brain dysfunctions. Finally, we highlight the integration of studies at multiple spatiotemporal scales of brain so as to increase the application of EEG in early screening and diagnosis of child developmental disorders.

Rhythmic temporal expectation (RTE) is defined as the ability to predict the point in time at which a sensory event will occur in rhythmic context. However, it remains currently unclear whether RTE is independent of attention control. In the present review, we firstly introduced and compared RTE related theories including dynamic attending theory and selective oscillation hypothesis. Then we reviewed studies on the relationship between attention control and RTE as well as their limitation. Finally, we proposed potential directions for the future research to investigate the effects of attention control on RTE.

Several studies have reported sex differences in the effects of oxytocin on many social cognitive activities, including particularly social judgment, social approach/avoidance, social cooperation/competition, and maintenance of relationships. At the neural level, the oxytocin-related sex differences are mainly reflected by the activation pattern of the amygdala and the reward system. Currently, the oxytocin-related sex differences are mainly explained by sex-associated evolutionary traits and hormonal levels, as well as the cumulative effects of sex differences. In the future, a more accurate experimental design is needed to validate the sex differences linked to oxytocin in social cognition. Based on this, a more rational and effective theoretical model will be established, whereby the influence of sex-related factors in clinical application will be further emphasized.

In recent years, the Chinese central government has relaxed the enforcement of population control and allowed families to have two children. As a result, a large number of family have had or will have two children. The distinct differences between families with one child and families with two children are the arrival of the new family member relationship—sibling relationship. The literature the forms, causes and consequences of sibling relationships has been accumulating. The forms included sibling warmth, sibling conflicts and sibling relationships combined warmth with conflicts. The factors that influenced sibling relationships included sibling factors themselves (e.g., structural characteristics, temperament) and parents factors (parent-child relations, differential treatment, and marital relationship). Sibling relationships might influence children’s development through the mechanism of attachment, social learning, and social comparison. In addition, an integrative model of sibling relationships is developed. Last, it emphasized that future studies should improve the theoretical frameworks, value the cultural role, and emphasize the research on prevention and intervention.

As a pertinent construct in academic and practical circle, employee well-being (EWB) refers to an umbrella concept which pays equal attention to product/process approaches and combines objective/subjective perspectives. However, such factors as unclear definitions and scattering conclusions are hindering the advancement of Chinese indigenous studies on EWB. Therefore, this paper, based on the review of current studies on EWB, observes that for one thing, definitions of EWB vary from subjective, psychological to integrated perspectives, which are further differentiated in dimensions and measurements as well; for another, the formation and mechanism are multilevel, in which traditional Chinese culture plays a moderating role. The research on EWB in the Chinese context can be furthered in the following aspects as concept and dimension, research design, multilevel theory, inter-individual research paradigm and intervention strategies.

Purpose is a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something that is at once meaningful to the self and of consequence to the world beyond the self. It has distinct connotation from meaning and goals. Purpose in life represents a higher-level psychological construct that offers insight into how and why certain people are healthy, successful and happy in the long-term. Having a purpose in life results in benefits in several aspects: it can promote individuals’ well-being, fend off negative experiences and behaviors, promote individual’ positive development, and facilitate higher level of achievement. Purpose in life originates from the opportunity to engage in potentially purposeful activities. Social support and culture could influence the development process of purpose in life. We concluded with an agenda for future research on the measurement, law of development, function, nomological network, ways of training, cultural and cross-cultural investigation of purpose in life.